Kennebunk Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Kennebunk Beach over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it’s a pretty bleak stretch for most of it, so don’t go getting your hopes up too high.

Right off the bat, the water temp is sittin’ at about 65°, which is runnin’ about average for this time of year, so that’s one small win.

From Sunday the 23rd all the way through to about the morning of Monday the 31st, it’s a real dry spell. Day after day of puny, weak surf with energy readings in the gutter – mostly below 100 (54, 38, 65...) – and onshore winds grindin’ it into a crumbly mess. The swell direction is mainly out of the E or SE, but with those short periods of 4 to 8 seconds, and the wind blowin’ onshore or cross-onshore, it’s just not worth paddlin’ out. You’re lookin’ at about eight straight days of next to nothing.

Now, things start to look a little bit more interestin’ around the end of the month. On Monday the 31st, late in the afternoon, the wind goes glassy. We get a 2ft swell from the SE, but check out that period – 16 seconds. That’s some real groundswell energy, with a combined energy reading of 187, which is finally moderate. The surf is there, but it’s pretty ordinary. Still, for the folks who are desperate, it’s a paddle.

Tuesday the 1st of September keeps that thread goin’ with a clean, offshore wind in the morning, a 1ft SE swell at a very long 15 seconds, and an energy of 126. It’s not gonna blow your mind, but the conditions will be clean.

Here’s where it gets tricky. On Tuesday the 1st afternoon, the swell flips to the NE, jumps to 6ft with a period of only 6 seconds and an energy reading of 426 (strong). But the wind goes onshore/cross-onshore out of the SSE, and it’s messy. That size is okay for intermediates, but with that short period and chop, it’s not gonna be a pretty sight.

The real standout, and I mean the *only* standout in this whole 16-day window, lands on Friday the 4th of September. It’s still a bit of a wait, but the morning session is your best bet. We’ve got a 3ft swell rollin’ in from the SSE, but with a period of 13 seconds – that’s a proper long-period groundswell. The combined energy is a huge 573, the biggest reading of the whole forecast. The wind is a light ENE offshore – clean as a whistle. For a sheltered spot like this, that offshore wind is a major, major positive. The swell direction from the SSE isn’t ideal for the optimum ENE direction, but the quality of the swell and the wind are gonna make up for it. Waves will be shapely, with long waits between sets. Just know that this spot is listed as “sheltered,” so it’s gonna need that size and energy to really light up. It’s a consistent spot, so if you can wait it out, that Friday morning is where you wanna be. Crowds are a possibility, especially when it’s the only game in town.

Beyond that, the second week fades back into weak, short-period dribble with onshore winds. Not much else to say there.

So, to sum it up: a whole lot of flat and ugly, with one proper window of promise on the morning of Friday the 4th of September. Set your watch for that one.

Rusty.

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